User blog:Rena Charming/Miniview Mash-Up 3
'Darkness on the Edge of Town' *''Flashback story'' - 4 out of 5 stars. It's quite cool that the flashback story in this episode, four seasons into a show that had already, long ago, stopped doing backstory they'd originally planned and started coming up with gimmicks to provide new material to supply the flashbacks, like the year off in the EF (I ramble a lot, don't I?), were able to tie in the new stuff that tends to the current arc with something that dates back to the original premise of the series: the Dark Curse. Turns out Rumple didn't create it himself, which also adds up to what we learned in 1.19. Continuity, fine. Nothing here felt like a retcon. *''Present-day action'' - 4 out of 5 stars. Entertaining stuff, sure. Rumple gathering the Queens of Darkness together out there in the real world was a lot of fun, and exactly what 3.12 with Hook should have been more like. I also liked seeing the Storybrookers going about their business, especially Belle and Hook spending some (short-lived) time together. *''Usage of cast'' - 4 out of 5 stars. Rumple and the guest stars stole the episode, but the core leads were each well used in their own way. David took a long while to appear, but he factored into the end of the episode. Will was unforgivably absent. *''Writing'' - 4 ouf of 5 stars. There was a lot of humor to this episode, that was well-written and delivered by the cast, more so than what we usually get out of this often painfully unfunny show. No severe plot holes or continuity mistakes can be spotted even though the story makes a reference to the original story, and even though the ending was a bit cheesy and Rumple's manipulating of Belle can be a stretch, everything ultimately worked out. Overall rating: 16/20. The mid-season premiere really has been one of my favorite episodes of the season so far. 'Unforgiven' *''Flashback story'' - 1 out of 5 stars. Forget the possible continuity error that they managed to salvage earlier, or the insanely dumb possibility that Mal introduces about Emma growing up to be good or bad - this episode's flashbacks were just BORING. *''Present-day action'' - 1 out of 5 stars. Draaaaaaaaaaaag. The villains' scheme to get the Charmings down into Mal's underground lair isn't so much ingenious as it is fillerish and plays on odds. And nothing much else happens, does it? *''Usage of cast'' - 2 out of 5 stars. Other than Snow and Charming, did the regulars do much in this one? I don't even remember what Regina was up to. *''Writing'' - 0 out of 5 stars. A new rating. 42 minutes of the Charmings rubbing in our noses that they have a secret is way more than I can handle and thusly I hope it's a long time before I ever have to rewatch this crap. Boring story all around. Maleficent doesn't care about hurting Snow and Charming, all she cares about is their pain. And Mary Margaret pulling a Mary Alice at the end lasted for what seemed like half an hour, all the while she was actually speaking to Regina, as pausedly as Belle after a jog. Overall rating: 4'/20. Can you tell I don't like this episode? 'Enter the Dragon *''Flashback story'' - 3 out of 5 stars. This was average at best, entertaining sure, but one would expect something more flashy and perhaps more visually enticing from a long overdue flashback story that involves Regina meeting Maleficent and Aurora being put under a sleeping curse. *''Present-day action'' - 3 out of 5 stars. Filler, again. The shenanigans that these villainesses were up to were downright childish, and there was something just very creepy about Rumple deceiving Belle. *''Usage of cast'' - 3 out of 5 stars. Regina stole the episode along with Mal of course, and even though Rumple was disguised as Hook the whole time, he was still featured in the flashbacks, which, good. Snow and Charming coasted and Will had a mere cameo, which, at this point in the season, is unforgivable, and unforgiven. Henry... something, right? *''Writing'' - 3 out of 5 stars. Buses out of town don't exactly happen, but there's a freight-train running through Storybrooke? Sure. As I said, the wicked deeds these Queens of Darkness + 1 did were just dumb, and I think Rumple should have been characterized differently - his evil grin after deceiving Belle just pushes the character further down a path of no redemption and I find that to be a bit of a poor writing choice - Rumple can threaten to kill, crush and destroy, but to actually be proud of deceiving the woman he claims to love so much is a bit more than I can stand. It manages to be more sickening than the usual crap he pulls fsr. Overall rating: 12/20. So, yeah, a very average episode. Given the overwhelming positive reception it received, I'm sure many will disagree. Maybe the episode being spoiled for me affected my outlook on it, but tbf, you didn't make out the episode to be that great to me, and then when I finally saw it it managed to be even less exciting. 'Poor Unfortunate Soul' *''Flashback story'' - 4 out of 5 stars. Somehow, something feels like it's missing from this flashback story, which all in all seems to be relatively low-key, with no high stakes or shocking twists, but it's ultimately very fascinating to see Ursula take on the role of the little mermaid, in a story that couldn't be covered in Ariel's debut episode. I like what they did here, I honestly do. *''Present-day action'' - 5 out of 5 stars. After a few filler episodes, no one can say this one wasn't jam-packed with action. First and foremost, of course, they got rid of one of the Queens of Darkness 4/5 episodes into this arc. While that can be a bit disappointing, it's also fast-paced to an extent, gotta give it that. This episode saw an adult August being tortured by means of getting his nose to grow again (amazing), Hook pointing a gun at Ursula, Ariel's return, a villain getting their happy ending, Belle immediately realizing she'd been duped and Mary Margaret being possessed by Regina. Wonderful stuff, entertaining all around. *''Usage of cast'' - 4 out of 5 stars. Whereas Belle and Will didn't appear much, their inclusion was satisfying, with Belle becoming the wiser sooner than I expected and Will's past in Wonderland being brought up. I don't really remember what Henry did, unfortunately, but the villains were very well used, Hook stole the show after coasting for a while, and even if the Charmings piggybacked off of Emma a bit, it's worth it to see Mary Margaret hitting Cruella over the head with a pan and choked by Ursula. *''Writing'' - 5 out of 5 stars. Just what an episode of this show should be at all times, a whimsical storytelling extravaganza with a balanced juxtaposition of Disney property and iconic fairytale/literature elements. Not only were a few characters brought back (Ariel, Smee), several others from the past were mentioned (Archie, Elsa, the Dragon). The pacing was fast, the ending satisfying, the flashbacks entertaining enough, and save for the minor flub (that bottled ship thing was nonsensical all around), I was happy enough to suspend my disbelief for these 42 minutes. Overall rating: 18/20. Yes to this. And that concludes my miniview mash-up. I will probably not have to do anything like this again this season, I plan on providing my feedback/insight on the next few episodes in more extensive detail for the weeks to come. Thanks for reading if you did. :) Category:Blog posts